


An Unventful Afternoon

by Jaspen



Category: The Trinity Prophecy - Marissa Kinzel
Genre: Deck the Halls, M/M, Modern AU, Pre-Slash, it's a Christmas fic errybody
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:15:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28298817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaspen/pseuds/Jaspen
Summary: "Don’t you think you’ve baked enough? There's enough for everyone to have... two of everything, I’m sure.”“But what if they want a third, Leof? What then? People just going hungry when I could have prevented it—Oh my god, I’m turning into my grandmother.”Based on a writing prompt I found online.
Relationships: Leof/Neros
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	An Unventful Afternoon

Christmas had never really been on Leof's radar growing up. Not to say he wasn't aware of it—the whole country celebrated more or less, but his childhood hadn't been quite as full of holiday cheer as his peers. Sure, Aldebrand had put up decorations every year, and he was always given a gift or two; but it was never compulsory for Leof to celebrate.

Then of course came college, and amongst the mistletoe and holly he encountered his very own Hallmark Christmas Special in the form of Neros Virvatuli. He should have expected it, honestly. There wasn’t anything in particular that pointed Leof to the conclusion, but when the seasons changed and the weather shifted colder, Neros was the first person he could recall dawning a Christmas sweater and humming carols quietly to himself in the Library. It had surprised Leof more that this new information didn’t bother him, rather than the humming itself. Even when going all out—the sweaters, the caroling, and the overabundance of tacky decorations was a state of mind Leof found to be annoying at best—Neros was just... well, kind of cute.

It took him all of two years to admit to himself that “kind of” was more of a “really” and even longer for him to recognize that the affliction was far worse than he let it appear. Anthea didn’t need to know _any_ of that; and he wasn’t in the habit of sharing his feelings, so he wasn’t sure where she got the idea to needle him about it.

It was a bit of a process, thinking about how he’d come to be a part of their little group. He could connect each point, but that didn’t make the graph any less astounding to him. Rosea hadn’t been his first interaction with the group, but she’d come to him for assistance on a design piece for their one shared class. Their puzzling had turned into a week-long endeavor that ended in an invitation to her usual study group—if he’d like to tag along.

He hadn’t intended on taking her up on her offer at first, but when mid-term panic set in around campus and he couldn’t find a single spot in the library that wasn’t taken up by fevered students and their mountains of textbooks and three-ring binders, he’d sent her a quick text, took one look at Neros’ bright smile, and the rest was history.

Even now, he still showed up to their meet-ups; twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. It was comforting to have a group of people he could just _be_ with, and Aldebrand was certainly happy to hear he’d made friends.

At the moment, he was sitting in Neros’ apartment, his references in an organized mess on the bar top. He would have been at the table or in the living room, but Anthea and Rosea were running late. That, and most of the usual surfaces were covered in tins, trays, and whole racks of cooling baked goods in varying forms of completion. The counter was really the only place he could sit and do his homework.

There were still 4 or so pieces he needed to start for the breadth section of his portfolio; but instead, he found himself watching Neros work frantically at a sticky dough, kneading it with both hands. It was distracting, but it wouldn’t put him behind—he was actually already ahead in many of his classes. The subjectiveness of art just made it difficult for him to tell if something was truly done or not, so he liked to get a bit more of a head start. Flipping past the detailed blueprints of several in-progress engineering projects, he picked a blank page and started sketching out gestures. His art class would reach portraiture sometime next semester, but it was always good to have a few thumbnails ready to go. It gave him an excuse to watch Neros, at least.

“Don’t you think you’ve baked enough?” He asked Neros once the dough began to behave and he started portioning it out on one of the many pans prepped for whatever it was he was prepping for. “I don’t think any of us could eat all of this in one month, much less one night.”

“It’s not just for that,” Neros was interrupted by his phone timer going off, prompting him to pull two pans out of the oven. They were replaced by three others, and with a quick wash and dry to get all of the flour off of his hands, he set two more timers on his phone. “My family’s coming to visit for Christmas since I can’t make the trip to them this year. I’ve been wanting to go see them for a while, but between classes and Father getting the flu, it’s been difficult to find the time.”

“Even so, you’ve baked enough for everyone to have... two of everything, I’m sure.” Leof couldn’t remember if Neros had a large family or not, but he’d made so many sweets and pastries already. It was a good thing his mid-terms had been earlier in the week; otherwise, he’d really be panicked.

It did make Leof question the rest of their group's absence a bit more, though. Anthea had been nothing but inspired since finishing the last of her tests the day prior, and this was the sort of thing she’d love to help Neros out with—or at least, watch him do. Leof had never seen Anthea cook, so he wasn’t sure where her skills lay in that respect.

Maybe Rosea had a few last-minute questions about her Toxicology exam; she’d been worried since the professor had postponed it, and it wouldn’t be out of character for Anthea to stick with her while on this little errand.

“But what if they want a third, Leof? What then?” Neros asked, pulling some doughy mixture off the stove and dolloping steaming spoonfuls onto a stretch of parchment paper. His speed matched the frantic nature in which he worked, but his precision was spot on. This wasn’t the first time Neros had done this. “People just going hungry when I could have prevented it—Oh my god, I’m turning into my grandmother.”

“Does that happen every Christmas?”

Neros had to pause his motions to laugh at that, and Leof considered that a win. Maybe he could get him to sit down and rest for a minute once some of these treats were in the oven.

“No, usually I only get to bake for Anthy and Rosea. And the past couple of years were just too busy, so I feel like I have to make up for that.”

“I’m sure neither Anthea nor Rosie would want you to work yourself into a stupor over this. At least not before they get here.”

Neros turned to look at him, but Leof watched all the words die on his tongue as he caught sight of just how many baked goods he’d made. “I really _am_ turning into my grandmother… Well then,” He straightened his posture, and not for the first time, Leof wondered if he had been a prince in another life. “I’ll finish up the ricotta, and honey ball cookies, and call it a day. It’s improper to ignore a guest for so long, after all.”

Neros’ smile was radiant, pulling Leof’s heart out of its rhythm. He looked back to his notebook, scribbling gears into the margins to make himself look busy. “I think I’m a bit closer than that.”

“You know, Leof, I think you’re right.”

He hadn’t meant anything by it—hadn’t even meant for Neros to hear him—and when he glanced up at Neros again, he seemed determined and... nervous.

What could he possibly have to be nervous about? He started talking before Leof could think on it anymore.

“I’ve extended the invitation to Anthy and Rosea each time, and it occurs to me now that I never asked if you would want to join us for Christmas.”

“I went last year,” Leof said, because he had; Anthea had pestered him about it, and Rosea had mentioned that Neros had been a little sad to see he hadn’t come to their little get together the first year, and Leof just couldn’t tell him that the holidays just weren’t his thing. It had come out later when the group had discovered they’d missed his birthday by four months, and he’d promised at the end of it to let them know if they ever got to be “a little too cheery.”

“Well, yes, of- of course, but that’s not—” Neros was wringing his hands a lot. Not as badly as he had when Rosea had gotten sick earlier that spring and he was trying to be strong for Anthea, but enough that Leof picked up on it. “... My parents always invite my friends to join us for Christmas when I visit. Rosea and Anthy have come, of course, but you know how averse they are to cold weather. I won’t be going to Sweden this year, and the festivities won’t be _nearly_ as grand, but I thought that, well, this is more of a secular holiday for you, and you—you’re welcome to come. If you’d like.”

Ah.

_Well._

Leof wasn’t _surprised_ that Neros was inviting him to what sounded like an intimate family get together per se, but he sure hadn’t been expecting it. He probably should have but he hadn’t, and now he felt time stretch on longer than it needed as he tried to formulate a response. What did he say to this, should he go? Did he _want_ to go? Was Neros asking him only out of politeness or—

No no, that was improbable. He’d seen Neros do things because they were the polite thing to do, and his mannerisms were always a bit more detached from him when he wasn't fond of doing something. The fact that Leof could tell he was nervous right now meant that he was being 100% genuine.

He had no idea what that meant. Correction: he did have an idea, but he needed longer than a couple of awkwardly long moments to process it fully. But he didn’t want to _not_ give an answer, so—

“Sure.”

He probably should have waited to give an answer.

“Really?” Neros’ lit up in another trademark smile, and this one Leof took the full brunt of. He’d never been to a holiday party, should he bring a dish of some sort? Presents? He only knew Neros, Anthea, and Rosea, would it be rude to not get something for his family as well? Did he push off the gift he was making Neros for something simpler _again_ , or did he risk handing over a year and a half’s worth of dedication in front of Neros’ entire family?

The questions weren’t helping. His heart was doing flip-flops, and no amount of problem-solving was going to distract him from how warm he was. God, he hoped it didn’t show on his face.

But Neros had responded, they were still in conversation. He couldn’t just fall quiet, but his words weren’t working, so he shrugged and took the beeping of the timer as an excuse to do something else—specifically, take the oven mitt from Neros, and move a tray of cookies from out of the oven.

“Should I bring something? For dinner.” Neros was right behind him with one of the remaining pans, slipping it in the empty space before Leof closed the door. He was still smiling, but at least Leof had the excuse of being near the oven for any excess heat he was feeling.

“Oh no, don’t worry about it,” Neros waved his hands, and Leof decided then that he’d bring something for the table. Rosea would always be happy to help him decide when she and Anthea finally got here. “Mormor likes to do Christmas just so; she’ll probably take over the kitchen as soon as she shows up.”

Hm, maybe something small, then. Maybe not cookies with how much Neros already had, but something to go with them. It’d be weird to bring a half-gallon of milk though, maybe some sort of cocoa mix? “You’re grandmother, right? She sounds like a character.”

“Mormor Electra is the _best_ grandmother. She’s really into theatre, and once, when I was small, she...”

The rest of the afternoon was filled with decorating cookies to the tune of whatever Christmas movie happened to be on in the background. Anthea and Rosea did show up eventually, but context told him it had less to do with test questions and more to do with getting distracted by each other. Anthea was happy to hear he was going to the party too, and as much as he didn’t really want to think about it, the longer it sat with him, the more he found himself almost looking forward to the party.

Christmas wasn’t exactly his holiday of choice, but Leof thought this one might shape up to be something pretty special. Especially if Neros continued to smile like that.

**Author's Note:**

> Mormor means "Grandma" in Sweedish
> 
> I've been wanting to finish this for about a year now, and I'm glad I finally got to. Happy Holidays, everyone!


End file.
